• 

A little under 4 years ago I started a project that I thought would be a lot of fun and an heirloom for my family. I wanted to do something different, and a project that I could work on every once in a while. I didn’t know what to do but settled upon an idea that reminded me of my childhood. I decided to make a holiday diorama. I fondly remember seeing elementry and middle school kids carrying these down the hallways for their class projects. As I have gotten older I can’t remember if it is because it was something I always wanted to do or if it was something that I really enjoyed.

• 

In the preliminary stages I thought I could use stop motion and make a little video. I was really inspired by Anna Hrachovec and her amiguri; so I started knitting some gnomes and a Santa (this is when I realized how long this project could actually take, because I don’t enjoy knitting with double pointed needles). I also realized that the stop cation video would take a loooooong time ( I shelved that idea).

• 

Once I had knitted Santa, a reindeer, and a gnome I decided that you can’t have Santa without all nine reindeer ( oh lord, they took a long time to make), you know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and the most famous reindeer of all Rudolph. It kind of snow balled from there… on what “had” to be added to the scene. It also made me realize that this project would be frequently need to be on “time out” because I would want to be committed to an asylum, if I was monogamous to this project.

• 

• 

I recently left my job I had a bit more time on my hands, so it was the perfect time to pick this project back up(while it wouldn’t be ready for the holidays I went ahead and finished it).

• 

All of the patterns were purchased on Ravelry with the exception of the snowballs and Santa’s sleigh which I designed and knit myself. The Santa can be removed from the sleigh and so he can climb out of the chimney if the occasion warrants it;)

Happy holidays ( yeah, it is eleven months early but Seattle has recently received some snow so I don’t think it is too far of a stretch to say this)

WOW! It has been a long time since my last post. I won’t profess to know hose this happened, because I am pretty clear on how it did. I took a couple of moments to reread the last post and it was kind of mind boggling how much knitting has occurred since the last post. So rather than wax on about the current and upcoming projects I thought I would celebrate some knitting items that I completed.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Brooklyn Tweed Early Fall 2018 collection was published today. I knit the Kirigami Hat by Gudrun Johnson for this collection. It is designed using a motif from an earlier collection and repurposed in the form of a hat. I think it works beautifully here and I love how the crown has a beautiful pattern though the decreases.

The hat is a little deceptive, there is no cabling taking place, but rather the shaping and pattern is made with increases, decreases and knits & purls. I matched the pattern with a brown that leans purple. The hat will be gifted to one of my daughter’s teaches come holiday time and she indicated that she is drawn to the color purple.

I would like to knit up more of these and the pattern which is also written for DK yarn  which would be a quicker knit than the one that I knit in a sock yarn. If I have time in my knitting schedule I will definitely make more.

 

I got it in my head to create photo diary of the Authenticity Shawl by Softsweater I knit up this month. It was a really fun way to do a  knit along and it also let me feel like part of a community in a different way. It was a great way to make a solitary project feel not so isolated. Here are the some pictures of the moments along the way ( I think I managed to take a picture every day with the exception of one).

Somewhere along the way I thought it would be fun to document my latest knit as a day by day pictorial. Yeah, I know I  there are no pictures (I got recruited to be the family taxi this weekend and it has affected some of my plans) and the shawl that I chose to knit is not done. Can anyone related to having a WIP on your needles for longer than you thought?

To be honest my Authencity Shawl might not get done this weekend but I am going to try to churn this out. I am double stranding this project in cashmere, and technically It should be on to the garter edging, but I have learned I have super tight row gauges so I am going to just keep going on pattern repeats to stashbust. It  will be pretty great thought to connect with some friends in Vancouver though (this may or may not work out).

I hope you don’t get sick of seeing the same WIP one and over on instagram..

Texture. I like it, it makes knitting  more interesting to me and adds structure to whatever I am knitting or crocheting. Lately I have started to knit a couple of cashmere projects in lace motifs. Its been kind of fun and one of them in particular is really addictive.

I have wanted to knit a pattern from Softsweater or Sivlia McFaden for a long time and my ” i can’t start another project” mania was overruled and I cast on for the Authenticity Shawl. I decided to double strand it and I am using a new to me yarn from  the Plucky Knitter called Lusso. The label says it is a sport weight felted cashmere and I have using it with their Spiffy yarn a cashmere/silk yarn blend. It feels fantastic and I like what’s being created but I have say that the fuzziness factor is turning it in to a giant piece of velcro and everything wants to stick to it. I have managed so far not to drop it on woodchips or pine needles, but I will need to be extra careful where I set this project down and what I wear it with. I  am still open minded about the yarn but the fuzz factor I have experienced is definitely noteworthy.

I am also knitting a hat with some Groovy Baby (also by the Plucky Knitter) which is one of their cashmere yarns. I acquired it during an online sale and have wanted to try knitting with this base as well. It is fuzzy, but seems to be the normal fuzz that one would associate with a cashmere yarn. I am knitting the Skinner Hat by Melissa Labarre which has been in my Ravelry queue since 2014 ( I would say that this means that knitting this pattern is well overdue, but if you see the rest of my queue there are plenty of patterns that I could apply that statement too.

 

 

 

I know that there are summer yarns and summer knitting can be done with non wool yarns, but I am counting the days until fall. I went down to Portland and the AC was such a perk, it made me want to knit with wool.

I have felt the need to keep knitting in the sweltering heat  so when the weather finally turns I will have an assortment of gifts and also some fantastic accessories. I should mention that most of these accessories will be teachers gifts. Gosh, if there was no outlet to gift hand knits I think you might see my house on an episode of “Hoarders”.

It may seem a bit nutty, but I recently finished my Saturate Shawl with with a kit from Woolenboon and I decided to gift it to a coworker who crochets, and appreciated handcrafted fiber art. It is a beautiful piece and a lot of work, but it just wasn’t something I would wear or in my colors, so despite having spent a good chunk of time on it, I thought the better thing to do was send it to a place where it would get worn and appreciated.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t take advantage of getting some photos in my recently finished shawl. My friend Thao took these beautiful pictures.

 

Do you have any patterns that you love to gift knit, or projects that you want to knit but decide to gift?  Everyone has a different approach and I’d love to hear yours.

Most people in Seattle don’t have air-conditioning,  so with the changes in climate due to  Global Warming it is becoming an annual pattern that is starting to feel intolerable. A month back there was the possibility of going to visit some friends in Portland, but in all honesty the likelihood was extremely low, so when the possibility of a roadtrip came up I jumped on it. I can’t stress that the appeal of the spending 6 hours in traffic over a weekend is pretty low but getting to see friends and spend time in an air-conditioned hotel room makes it pretty hard to resist.

This weekend I’ll me taking my mini me down to Portland for a tiny vacay. I’ll be single parenting it and socializing which has me a little bit stressed, but that’s I am thinking I need to find a a good travel project for the trip. It would be great if I could finish the hat I just cast on before I drive down there, but I think the likelihood will be low.

Does anyone have any good pattern ideas for a road trip?

Think expensive yarns are not as  good of a value as  some more value priced options? Many people have said that this is true but I have to disagree with this statemebt(i’ll explain) I am working on my Saturate Shawl by Orange Knits and I have knit, torn out and reknit a section FIVE times. This yarn is rapidly becoming more of a value proposition as I tend to keep using it to reknit the SAME section.

I have already put the project on timeout. I have gone further and cast on a new project and I am about 1/4 through it.

I worked on it last night it and felt like I was making some headway on it….. until I  looked at the project this morning and had a moment.

.This just in: I tore out the knit on edging one more time, reflected on it  and I have figured it out. I am sign to make sure that I  notate my project page incase anyone has a similar issue.

The weather has been absolutely fantastic out here in Seattle and my garden has been reaping the rewards. Its very enjoyable to have the garden bloom before it gets too hot and I want to stay inside.